Alumnus Stephen M. Barbas receives St. Ives Award

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumnus and former Loyola trustee Stephen M. Barbas, J.D. ’79, is the recipient of the 2012 St. Ives Award, the highest honor awarded by the College of Law Alumni Association.

The St. Ives Award, named for the patron saint of lawyers, is presented annually to alumni who have volunteered services to the College of Law or the university, maintained the highest standards of the profession and furthered the mission of the alumni association. Barbas was honored at the College of Law Alumni Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans.

Barbas is an attorney and senior partner at Barbas, Nuñez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian in Tampa, Fla. His practice is focused on workers’ compensation, products liability and personal injury law. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1976 from Florida State University and a Juris Doctor from Loyola’s College of Law in 1979, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class and was a published member of the Loyola Law Review, Phi Alpha Delta, the Student Bar Association and the St. Thomas More Society.

"I am humbled to receive this award and to be part of such a respected group of past recipients who distinguished themselves professionally and personally. My experience with this law school and university as a student, and later as a volunteer, has been truly rewarding,” Barbas said.

Barbas began his legal career as an assistant city attorney in Tampa in 1979, a position he still holds on a part-time basis today. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1979 and has also been admitted to the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court (Middle District of Florida); and U.S. Court of Appeals (Fifth and Eleventh Circuits).

Barbas has been recognized as one of Florida’s Elite Attorneys by Florida Trend Magazine and Tampa Bay’s Top Lawyer by Tampa Bay Magazine. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and was recently inducted as a fellow in the American Bar Association College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. He is listed in the publications, Leading American Attorneys and the New York Times’ Florida Super Lawyers.

He is a member of the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Federation, Save the Manatee Club, the Humane Society, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa Railway Society, Tampa Museum of Science and Industry, Florida Aquarium, Tampa Historical Society and American Red Cross Legacy Society. He is also the current chair of the Ybor City Museum Society Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School in Tampa, where he has served on the alumni board since 1990 and is now a member of the Board of Trustees.

Barbas served as chair of the Loyola College of Law visiting committee from 2001 – 04, the first chair from outside Louisiana, and now continues as an emeritus member of the committee. He was also a member of the President’s Council and chair of the Tampa Prospect Advisory Committee during Loyola’s Thresholds capital campaign. During that campaign, he and his wife created the Stephen and Schezy Barbas Endowed Scholarship to support Loyola common law students from Florida. Barbas served two consecutive terms with the Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees from 2004 – 10. He continues to be an active member and benefactor of the university.

Barbas and his wife, Schezy, a Dominican College alumna, currently reside in Tampa, Fla., and have two daughters, Amy and Terin.

For more information on attending the luncheon, contact Bart Folse 504-861-5555 or at bfolse@loyno.edu.

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